Hidden Flames
by Nobody's Song
Summary: Zuko marries the one woman who will stand up to him! 2nd chapter edited due to changes in Avatar and 3rd chapter up!
1. The Forced Marriage and Unwilling Bride

This is my first Avatar story so I think you should all be really nice to me and review and tell me what you think! No flames please, but constructive criticism is welcome. Praise would be even more cherished. Before you review please consider I wrote and edited most of this while being harassed by four blond haired blue eyed hyperactive eight year old girls, namely my neighbors. I love them like my little sisters, but them and writing does not always mix. Actually it never should mix. Somewhere in the middle I also skipped out of the room to answer the phone and ran into a wall which probably caused severe mental damage.

I made some minor revisions to this. Just some stuff that didn't fit in with where I wanted the story to go.

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's as simple as that.

Chapter One: The Forced Marriage and Unwilling Bride

Prince Zuko stood at the deck of the small tub-err ship-he had been forced to occupy since his banishment from the Fire Kingdom. Despite his banishment, he was of age to be married, and was on his way to the occasion at this moment. He would look forward to this event with lustful impatience otherwise, but it forced him to put a hold on his search for the Avatar.

"Uncle!" he snapped, knowing the old man was somewhere nearby, "When are we going to dock?"

"Patience Zuko. We will arrive at Lord Aki's island around nightfall." The old man informed him, his nature as cheerful and jovial as always. Zuko suppressed a growl, the divine flame within him flickering at his fingertips. He had not wanted to lose any time in his search for the Avatar but this event could not be avoided.

"I am going to my room. Inform me when we have landed." He spat out at his uncle, then

stalked to his room.

Lord Aki stood at the port to greet the Fire Nation ship that pulled into his port. His eyes widened to see Iroh and Prince Zuko step off, and he bowed to his guests.

"Welcome my friends! It is wonderful to see you have finally arrived."

Zuko fought the urge to snort as his uncle greeted the man before them. He was old, slightly older than his own father, and as fat as his uncle. He wore a smile that hinted at his cheerful nature. Zuko looked around to see the people on the island acting as though there were a celebration. Aside from the people greeting them at the port, everyone was dancing, singing, and getting very drunk.

"Is there some sort of celebration going on?" he demanded of the stout man before him, who merely continued smiling.

"Prince Zuko, this is the normal state of things on our island. We found life is much more pleasant if you enjoy it to the fullest. And there is a marriage tomorrow after all." The prince snorted in disdain at the concept. He did not believe what he was hearing. How disgraceful! Iroh must have noticed this, and jumped into the conversation.

"Aki, will your daughter join us for dinner tonight?" Zuko's eyes gleamed in sudden interest. Despite his reluctance to be married he had heard the tales of Aki's daughter. She was told to be a legendary beauty. He could tolerate the two imbecilic old men who stood before him if the stories were true.

"No, my dearest daughter took a ship and some supplies and disappeared in the middle of the night about a week ago with her twin brother."

"You did not attempt to stop her?" Iroh questioned him. "Surely the girl could not have gotten away so easily."

"I did not know she was gone until the next morning. I suspect she convinced her brother to hide her. I think she wanted to see her favorite island one last time. My daughter has more will than wisdom, and I am ashamed to say I gave her a very loose rein as a child." He shrugged, as though to say he truly did not mind his choice.

"Do you have no control over your own child?" Zuko was shocked at the old man's attitude towards his daughter's disappearance. If it was his child that was gone he would have every ship in the ocean searching for them.

"If it was her alone there is the possibility I could've stopped her, but together she and her brother are impossible to control."

Zuko's jaws dropped at this statement. Even with the help of her brother, no mere woman should be able to pull off something like this.

"You look startled. If I recall they only had about enough supplies with them for four or five days. And if they still have food they most likely saw your ship come in and are curious. They should be back today or tomorrow. Come now, let's go eat."

They arrived at Lord Aki's castle within fifteen minutes. They arrived inside to find a veritable feast set out for them. Lord Aki motioned for them to sit down, and joined them. Zuko almost started drooling at scent of the wonderful food set out before them, but for pride's sake he didn't. Servants served them small appetizers and wine to go along with their food. They finished and continued to sit around the table, Iroh drinking his ginseng tea. Zuko suspected that the drinks had been spiked, as he was feeling slightly dizzy and far more irritable than normal. Zuko continued to drink and must have passed out, because he remembered nothing more of the night.

The next morning he was awoken by a hand shaking his shoulder. He swatted the hand away, but it returned to poke at him a moment later. He whipped over and shot a blast of flame from his hand, his head pounding. He heard a yelp and a sizzle then that accursed hand was shaking him once more.

"Will you leave me the fuck alone!" he jolted out of bed and screamed at the intruder. His reaction was immediately regretted as the pounding in his head doubled.

"I came with something for your head and to tell you it's time for supper. Both you and your crew slept the entire day. Our liquor was rather strong for you I suppose." He looked up at the servant and accepted the glass she gave him. He took a sip and spat it out all over the poor woman.

"I know it doesn't taste very good, but it will help you fell better. Plug your nose and drink it fast." He followed her advice and managed to swallow the horrendous liquid all the while secretly wondering if they were trying to kill him.

"I am also supposed to tell you that your betrothed, Lady Amaria arrived early this morning with her brother Lord Talon. She will greet you at supper. Zuko nodded very carefully, the pounding in his head already beginning to subside.

Zuko arrived at supper to see his uncle along with Lord Aki and who he could only assume was his son Talon standing around the table. Talon was slightly taller then Zuko, with tousled curly black hair and dark amber eyes, almost red.

"You must be the unlucky bastard who gets to marry my sister." Zuko stiffened at the course language as Talon approached him and bowed slightly, "I'm sorry for you I really am, but thanks for taking her."

"Jerk."

"Ahh, there she is. If I may present my daughter, Amaria." Aki rushed forward to lead his daughter into the room. Zuko retained a gasp, as all the blood in his body rushed straight to his err, you know what I mean. Amaria had the same tousled black hair as her brother, with faint red highlights that fell to her shoulders. Her eyes were the same peculiar amber red shade. She was slightly paler than the typical Fire Nation resident, and slender, filling out her clothes in all the right places. Something about the way she moved, and carried herself, reminded him of a smoldering fire. She seemed as though she was ready to leap into flame at any moment.

"Your Majesty. It is wonderful to finally have the divine pleasure of meeting you. I offer my most profound apologies for not being here to greet you last night." She had walked over to him and bowed from the waist, her arms hidden in her black kimono. He had to fight the temptation to reach forward and caress the curls tumbling across the back of her neck. He realized with a start that he had every eye in the room upon him, and bowed as well.

"There is no need to apologize. I can only regret that we were not blessed by your beautiful presence earlier." Iroh's jaw dropped. That was the most diplomatic thing he had heard Zuko say in…well ever. Although the girl was very beautiful, he saw immediately that she was not the typical obedient Fire Nation flower. He sensed his nephew would have a good deal more to deal with than he thought with this one. He watched the two converse, awkwardly at first, but as Lord Aki left them alone, the conversation became more fluent. He even thought he saw Zuko smile slightly once or twice. Who was this girl?

_The Next Day_

Talon watched his sister pace back and forth across her room. She was raving at him about being forced to marry Zuko. He doubted she truly minded. He just thought she was scared out of her mind.

"Amaria, is Zuko really that bad of a guy?"

"Well, noooo, but-"

"Then stop complaining. I've heard numerous stories about his supposed cruelness. For some reason however, he seems to like you. Maybe he's just fooled by your outer appearance, and doesn't yet realize what a bitch you are." He continued on oblivious to the glare he was receiving, "No matter what happens, you are getting married in less than three hours, and you need to make the best of it. Now get ready. You're expected to look no less than gorgeous tonight." He stalked out leaving his sister to stare after him.

"Fine. I'll get ready dammit. Not like I have a choice anyway."

Zuko stood with his uncle. The marriage ceremony would be fairly simple actually. There were a plethora of people who would watch, he and Amaria would make some vows and drink some sacred wine then they and several witnesses would sign a piece of paper. It would take place in about half an hour. He looked at the people around him, realizing he knew almost none of them. He saw Talon approach them, his face serious.

"Your Majesty." The bow Talon offered Zuko was just barely polite, "I thought I should warn you ahead of time to be careful with my sister."

"What do you mean?" Iroh asked before Zuko had the chance to retort.

"When I talked to her earlier she was already scared. She pretends she's mad to cover it up, but I'll imagine that at this point she's most likely terrified out of her mind." Zuko could tell he was serious from the look on the young man's face.

"Why should she be scared? She and I have both known about this our whole lives." He pointed out his curiosity overcoming his desire to not speak. He did not believe he had given the girl reason to be frightened of him the previous day when they had spoken. She had surprised him in truth. She clearly had opinions, and was not afraid to speak them. She had remained within the boundaries of politeness of course, but had been dangerously close to crossing the line a great deal of the time.

"I'll let you in on a secret. Amaria pulls the strings around here. I don't know how she does it, but she's sneaky. She has control over everything that's ever happened to her, except this. I don't even think it's that so much that scares her even. I think it's the wedding night that freaks her out. Fear of the unknown type thing." He nodded to himself, more thinking out loud than anything, "Anyways I'd be careful. I don't know what she'll do if you push her to hard." He bowed to them once more before walking away to converse with some unknown man. Zuko was stopped from following him by Lord Aki motioning him over.

"I guess Amaria is ready right now. If you are prepared as well we can proceed immediately." Zuko considered and nodded. He saw no real reason to prolong the wait. Aki nodded, pleased, the motioned to his guests, "Ladies and Gentlemen! There has been a minor change of plan. We will be proceeding with the marriage now instead of later. I hope that is not and inconvenience." The group of people muttered and moved away from the door as Zuko walked over to the priest. He became distracted halfway as Amaria entered the room and walked to join him.

She was wearing a strapless bronze dress, with a layer of gold underneath. The dress was tight around the upper body and flowed downwards from her hips to form a puddle of material at her feet. Her hair had been pulled into a complicated knot at the base of her neck. She looked absolutely stunning, but he was distracted by her eyes. Although she smiled at the guests, her eyes bespoke of the immense fear Talon had warned him about. She looked to him as thought she was barely able to walk to him now. He had not even realized she had made it that far until she slipped one arm through his.

"Well, are we going to get married or not?" She questioned with the slightest of smiles. He nodded at her unable to speak, and led her to the priest. He could hear the muttering from people around them.

"What a lovely couple."

"They look so perfect together."

He fought the urge to turn around and scream at the people to shut up once he reached the priest. He was too busy watching Amaria however. She had undoubtedly heard the whispers and there was the faintest flicker of an amused smirk gracing her face. For solemnity's sake however she fought to keep a straight face. He didn't even hear the priests speaking until he paused and Zuko realized he was supposed to make his vows.

"I do so solemnly swear by the powers of the Fire Spirits to take this woman as my wife, to stay by her side in sickness as well as health, in poverty as well as wealth, to protect her life with my own, until the day death parts us."

Amaria followed suit with her own vows, slightly different than Zuko's, "I do so solemnly swear by the powers of the Fire Spirits to take this man as my husband, to stand behind him in sickness as well as health, in poverty as well as wealth, to seek only his honor, until the day death parts us."

He were handed the huge goblet filled with sacred wine and he took a swallow. He handed it off to Amaria, who held it with both hands, her eyes widening at the weight. Without thinking he placed his hands over hers to help her hold onto it, earning a collective sigh from the guests. He was too absorbed in Amaria's smile of gratitude as she took a small sip of the wine to notice.

_How the hell does she do this to me?_ He thought to himself. _Why do I act so soft when she's around?_ Amaria chose this moment to disturb his thoughts once more by sliding both her hands into his, staring at him apparently confused at his absent mindedness. The priest finished his rambling, and Zuko pulled Amaria close to his body, brushing his lips against hers for a moment, ignoring the delighted sighs, cheers and applause from the audience.

Amaria trembled slightly at the kiss. Married, despite her wishes. She was scared of anything beyond her control and this was certainly that. _Until the day death parts us, huh? This could be interesting. He has a surprise coming if he thinks he's getting anything tonight. We'll see who's the boss in this relationship. _


	2. A Long Night

Sorry this has taken so long. I've been out of town for two weeks. It was really fun, but exhausting. So here is the new chapter.

Chapter Two: A Long Night

Amaria trembled throughout her wedding feast. Although she knew she appeared delighted with her wedding, she was on the very brink of control. Her occasional glances at her brother did nothing to help. His face was an emotionless mask, which Amaria knew he was using to hide his nervousness. He had been as unhappy about her marriage as she. Truly she supposed it could have been worse. Zuko did not seem cruel or neglectful. He did not look like he would beat and abuse her. Although the hidden look in his eyes suggested he'd like nothing more than to drag her up to their room and "do the dirty deed" right now.

She looked at the man who was now her husband. He had eaten his food-had even had seconds-but had not even worked his way through one glass of wine yet. Most likely a good idea considering the hangover he had suffered yesterday. With a start she realized most of the guests had left, and Zuko had arisen from his chair offering her his hand. Taking a deep breath to steady herself she reached for his hand allowing him to pull her from her chair, allowing him to give her a kiss on the forehead as he did so. She knew her place, knew her duty to her kingdom. It was her job to produce a healthy heir to the Fire Nation, preferably more than one, and princesses to be married off in political alliances. She could do that. It wasn't that hard.

She allowed Zuko to lead her to what had once been only her room. Now he would share it until he left her island home-and her-in a week. That week could not end soon enough. She was distracted by Zuko undoing the knot her hair had been tied in, allowing the silken strands to caress his hands. He turned her around to pull her into the deepest most passionate kiss she had ever encountered, his hands sliding up her body to start pulling her dress down. Despite her earlier conversation with herself about her duty to her kingdom this was too much.

"Get your fucking hands off of me!" she jumped away, her breathing fast, her heart pounding in her ears. Zuko looked at her confused then shook his head, chuckling.

"Amaria, we are married. And you have a duty to give the Fire Nation an heir." He moved to come closer.

"Just because we're married doesn't mean we have to do anything. And the Fire Nation doesn't need an heir tonight." Despite her direst attempts her voice shook, an octave higher than it normally was.

"Us being married means I can force you to my will." He arched an eyebrow at her daring her to respond. And it was true in the Fire Nation she was considered inferior and he could do what he liked to her. However she was too stubborn to allow this.

"You do that and I guarantee your life with me will be a living hell from this moment on." She crossed her arms and glared at him resolutely. Let's see if he could force her to his will. To her consternation he only chuckled at her once more.

"Do you really think I'd do that? You will need to rule at my side one day, and for that I'd prefer we cooperate. I'd rather my married life be pleasant."

"As would we all." She responded wryly.

"Amaria. Come here." He sat on the bed patting the space next to him.

"No."

He was startled at her blatant refusal. Her stance showed her resoluteness in the matter. Her legs were set in a solid stance, her arms crossed over her breasts, her brows pulled together glaring at him.

"Stop being difficult and come here."

"No."

"Goddammit Amaria stop being so stubborn and come over here!"

"No."

As Zuko's temper rose Amaria stayed calm, growing more confident in herself as he grew angrier. He began to see red, and his blood was pounding in his ears. He could feel the air around him began to heat up and it began to shimmer as he fought to retain control of his flame.

"Amaria, you have until the count of three before I force you to come over here." To worsen his temper she did not look the least bit upset, and only grinned at him.

"Try it. I dare you to."

"One…"

She did nothing only stared him down coolly.

"Two…"

Now the flame was flickering around him, wrapping around his torso.

"Three."

The flame flew towards Amaria, not enough to kill her but enough to burn her mildly. Her eyes widened at the fact that he would dare attack her then settled into a determined grimace. In the split second before the flame touched her, the air around her shimmered and his flame wrapped around her body, coiling around his wife's slender flame like a snake. It was wild and writhing at first but it calmed and after a minute of brief struggling it disappeared altogether.

Zuko stared at her in shock, his anger apparently forgotten. She was a better firebender then he could have expected.

"How…how did you learn to do that?"

"Firebend? I went to school for it."

"Feeling sarcastic today."

"I'm only as sarcastic as you are horny."

"Low blow."

Amaria caught a glint in Zuko's eyes but before she could think on it he had traveled across the room and trapped her hands behind her back. He pulled her roughly to him. He kissed her, using his free hand to pull down her dress.

"Not fair!" Amaria yelled out, her flamed leaving her body in her anger to scorch against his chest. He jerked away but would not let go the hold he had on her hands. She twisted and writhed the whole time he dragged her over to the bed, which he threw her on rather unceremoniously. She attempted to escape but he pinned her under him, and thinking fast tied her wrists tightly to the bedposts with the sheets. She began screaming obscenities at him as she fought to break free. She looked at the amusement on his face and knew her situation was hopeless, but she would not go down without a fight.

Zuko awoke early, just as the sun began to rise. He stretched out, grinning to find Amaria with her head and arm curled on his chest. Her other arm was caught between their very naked bodies, her legs entangled with his. She was sleeping soundly, as well she should. He grimaced as he shifted, his back covered with deep scratches. Amaria had at some point burnt through her bonds to claw at his back in one of her many attempts to escape him. Later on she had held onto his back tightly because she could not help herself.

He wrapped both arms around his wife's waist, pondering how natural it felt to do so. She was not like any woman he had ever met before. He could think of no woman so strong in body and spirit, so stubborn, and lovely all at once. Hell, he could not think of any men this stubborn. And adaptable. Once she realized she could not win against him, she had bent to his will, even ceasing to fight back after a while.

He considered her in her sleep. She looked lovely and innocent in her sleep, almost like a child. The thought of innocence disappeared as in her sleep she slapped his chest over one of the burns she had caused last night. She was a damned good firebender, on par with his own skills, but her control over her fire was different. It was better first of all. Her very mood had affected her bending last night, and the fire she generated was so minutely controlled it was astounding.

Shrugging he grabbed a cover her pulled it higher over his and Amaria's entwined bodies. She snuggled deeper into the warmth against his chest, and he felt a wave of sudden affection for the sleeping woman before him. His eyes closed slowly as he dozed off. He needed the sleep. It had been a very long night, and he had the feeling that being married to this woman meant many more of them.


	3. Bonding

Disclaimer: Oh as much as I wished I owned Avatar I don't. Damn it.

Chapter Three: Bonding

Amaria woke up, not slowly as most people do, but suddenly, fully awake the moment she opened her eyes. She wondered who was in her bed for a moment before noticing Zuko lying naked next to her. Her eyes glimmered in barely restrained anger as she remembered what had happened last night. Although she would give him credit, he had not been cruel or overly rough with her, and he was very good in bed (not that she was one to judge), being tied to a bed was not a way to win her favor. Looking at her husband's bare chest she quickly found the worst of the burns and taking a deep breath slapped it with all her might.

Zuko awoke to a sudden searing pain in his chest. He sat up abruptly, his stomach in knots, and screamed in agony. He looked around out of tear filled eyes to see Amaria looking at him curiously, a mixture of guilt and satisfaction gracing her lovely features. He then noticed the hand clutched to her chest, reddened and sore. He assumed it was from hitting him.

"What the fuck was that for?" he screamed at her, his chest still throbbing, and fighting a faint wave of nausea.

"For being an arrogant bastard!" she screamed right back, jabbing him in the chest with one long nail. She had leaned in very close when she jabbed him, and he couldn't help but notice that her very attractive figure was still naked. She noticed where he was looking and slapped him on the chest once more, although considerably softer this time, "Hentai." She grumbled getting out of the bed they had shared and pulling on the nearest article of clothing she could find, which happened to be the long sleeved grey shirt that he wore under his armor. Sighing she sat on the bed next to him, curling her long bare legs under her. She glanced at his chest, running her hand around the edges of some of the more major burns.

"I kicked your ass pretty bad didn't I?" He shuddered slightly as her soft hands examined the burns. "We'll have to clean these up and-YOU GOT BLOOD ON MY SHEETS!" she screamed indicating the blood stains, presumably from the scratches on his back, marring the cream colored sheets.

"Who's fault do you think that is?" he yelled back. Damn the girl could yell.

"Sure as hell ain't mine!" she glared at him, and for a moment he was reminded of a forest fire, angry and burning everything in its path. That happened a lot with her. Last night she had seemed a bonfire, roaring, happy, content.

"Who the fuck scratched me?"

"If you hadn't tied me to the bed!"

"Well, if you would just what you're told like a normal person!"

She hmphed at him, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring, "Hate to tell you buddy, but you left normal a long time ago." She sighed getting off the bed, and tugged on the sheets, indicating he should as well. He did and she threw his pants at him, and proceeded to remove the sheets.

"I'm going to get these cleaned. Sit back down." She threw the pile of dirty sheets in the hallway, then walked to a cabinet across the room. She pulled out some cloths and bandages and such stuff before walking back to the bed. She laid all her supplies on the bed and tugged on his hand, pulling him on the bed. She grabbed a cloth and got it wet, before proceeding to clean off the bloody scratches on his back.

"That hurts!" he yelled at her as she got the scalding water in his scratches, having a need to break the silence that had come between him.

"Some prince you are. Wuss." She reached around him for a bottle of something, leaning against his bare back to reach it. He shuddered, in part from the slight pain, in part from the pleasure of having her body so close to his. The bottle was filled with some kind of ointment which Amaria was currently massaging into his back. He grew drowsy as her strong hands kneaded his muscles, and he was almost asleep once more when she stopped.

"Huh…What?" He questioned Amaria, who was now sitting in front of him, and dipping a finger into the water.

"Whatever you may believe, I wasn't doing that solely for your pleasure. I was just rubbing the ointment into your scratches. Heat this up a little would you?" she handed him the bowl of water, now room temperature. Grumbling slightly he obliged, and she dipped another clean cloth in it, and before he could react, began cleaning the burns on his chest. With the very painful burning hot water. The only thing that prevented him from yelling out was the fact that Amaria was currently cleaning a burn that was located very very low on his stomach. Poor Amaria was possibly the deepest shade of red he had ever encountered in a human being until this point. He grinned. It was actually very adorable, her shyness. She was determinedly ignoring his grin, and junior slowly becoming more attentive to the situation. However he caught a veritable sigh of relief when she finished with the burn and moved to ones located higher up on his chest.

"You're not what I expected." She said suddenly reaching for some more of the magic ointment.

"Wha?"

"I went to school with your sister. I was a couple of years up. No offense, but she's kind of a bitch. After meeting her I expected you'd be the same way. A cruel, sadistic, bastard."

"I'm so glad I surpassed your expectations."

"Now who's feeling sarcastic."

"Does that make you the horny one this time around?"

"You're not that lucky." But the way his gaze became intense and shifted to her, the way one hand traced along the length of her thigh before resting at her knee, and the way his muscles just tensed up ever so slightly as he tried to retain some control over his hormones made her heart flutter faintly, and her hands falter for the briefest instant before resuming work on his burns.

He must have noticed because the hand that gripped her knee clenched slightly, and the other slid around her waist, pulling her closer, "Amaria…"

"Yes…?" He didn't answer, merely leaned in to kiss her lips. She tensed for the briefest moment before relaxing into his hold, and at the gentle prodding form his tongue let him into her mouth. He pulled her nearly into his lap, one hand gliding up her back to cup the back of her head. Amaria could fell the tension in the air, and knew that they both could go for a repeat of last night.

"Amaria?" They both jerked back, and Amaria stomped to the door to open it and find Talon. He took one look at his sister's flushed face and tousled hair before asking, "Am I interrupting?"

"YES! Go away!" Amaria slammed the door but both she and Zuko could hear him yell, "But breakfast is ready."

"Fuck damn shit ass bitch." Amaria stalked into a separate room where Zuko heard bathwater going. Smirking he followed her and not feeling the slightest bit guilty picked her up and dropped her in the tub.

"Argh! My shirts wet!"

"My shirt. You're just wearing it."

"Not my fault."

"Guess we'll have to fix it then." He slid into the tub before Amaria could protest and proceeded to remove his shirt before drawing her into another kiss.

"What about breakfast?" she managed to murmur.

"It can wait for an hour or so."

Yay for chapter three. I feel so productive. I hope you all like it. I have to say the "you got blood on my sheets" part is my favorite part of this story so far. Review!


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